*Maddox*
I stare at Isla in bewilderment, not sure what to say to her. I should probably be down in the dungeon trying to break Alpha Jordan, trying to figure out where the hell his fucking daughter is hiding, but I came here because I wanted to talk to Isla to make sure she was all right.
Apparently, she is not.
Sighing I walk over to her bed and sit down next to her, my hip near her knee. “What do you mean?” I ask her. “Replaced… by who?”
She runs a hand through her hair, blonde curls tangling around her fingers, before she grimaces and untangles herself. She likely forgot about the cut on her head. “I don’t think I need to tell you,” she says, folding her hand in her lap. Her eyes are wide as she looks up at me.
Puzzled, I stare at her for a long time, trying to figure out what the hell she is talking about. Why is she mad at me exactly? I expected her to shout at me for being cross with her about the office. I don’t think I’ve done anything else.
“What?” I shake my head. “Replaced?” I have to say it again. “Replaced.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” she says in a way that makes me cringe a little. “I left because I could plainly see with my own eyes that you don’t need me anymore.”
Suddenly, it all becomes clear to me, and I feel like one of those dense men in a movie where the woman says, “Well, if you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you!” and it just seems ridiculous that the idiot man doesn’t know.
I was that idiot man until about five seconds ago….
Maybe I just don’t want to accept that she’s mad at me for that.
“Isla,” I say, reaching for her hand. She doesn’t pull it away, but I know she wants to. She’s still that obedient, subservient little girl that arrived here not that long ago who was terrified when she looked at me. “You have to know that that girl, I can’t even remember her name, is not pregnant with my child.”
The look on her face lets me know I have not said enough to convince her. “The way that you brought her into the office, she seemed very important to you.”
I can’t help the scoff and laugh that comes out of my mouth, which makes her face contort even more. “I’m sorry,” I say, and she narrows her eyes. “No, really, I am sorry. She’s not anything to me, Isla. She’s just… a headache. A girl I’m trying to help. I never even met her before today.”
She doesn’t believe me. I can tell by the way she’s scrutinizing me that she doesn’t. She thinks that Sydney is my lover. And she probably thinks she’s… thirteen years old.
“So why were you so angry when you walked into your office and saw me in there doing exactly what you told me to do?” She pulls her hand away so that she can fold her arms beneath her chest, and immediately my hands feel cold.
My eyes grow fixated on her chest. I can see the outline of her breasts against the thin fabric of her light-colored nightgown, and it’s cold enough in here that her nipples are a little hard as well. I am distracted. She notices and growls at me.
“Sorry! Sorry!” I say. “I, uh….” What had she asked me? I remember. Angry. Why was I angry? “Baby, I wasn’t angry at you. I was just frustrated in general, trying to get one problem solved so I could move on to the next, and Sydney wanted to call her parents, so I brought her to my office, even though I didn’t really want her in there, and then I ran into you… and I’m so sorry, but I lost my fucking mind for a few minutes. And I really am sorry.” I drag a hand down my face, waiting for her to speak.
She doesn’t. She just continues to look at me, like she’s not sure whether or not she should believe me, like she’s not sure if she can trust me.
“Isla, I don’t know what else to say. I went to another pack to get Alpha Jordan, ended up killing that Alpha, the one who impregnated Sydney, and brought her here to keep her from getting further harmed. That’s all.” I take a deep breath. I haven’t heard for sure, but I’m pretty sure that Alpha Bryant is dead.
Her eyes grow wider and wider with each of my confessions, and I know that she is shocked.
I feel a bit embarrassed telling her all of this, and while I’m not surprised by that reaction, I wish I didn’t care. I felt the same way whenever Rebecca asked me what I’d done that day and my duties involved killing someone.
It didn’t happen often back then….
It had happened more often since I’d killed her.
“You’ve had a busy day.” Isla’s voice is nearly a whisper.
“Yes, we both have.”
Her cheeks turn red and a hot puff of air comes from her mouth. “I was having a bad day before I ran into you.”
I reach for her hand again, and she slides her fingers into my palm. I’m not used to listening to other people when they want to talk about their problems, but for Isla, I will push my own concerns out of my mind and let her speak. “Did you call your mom?”
She nods. “I did. And… she didn’t answer my questions. She just blew me off.”
I can’t help the frown marks that form in my forehead. “Questions?” I ask her. “I thought you just wanted to visit with her.”
Her cheeks pink even further as she says, “I did. I miss them a lot. I just… wanted to know a few things. When I started to talk about anything other than what I’m doing now and how they are doing, she just… shut down.”
I swallow hard and choose my words carefully. The last thing I want to do is make her mad again, but I’m starting to put all of the pieces together, and I’m starting to wonder if Isla didn’t ask her mother about things she didn’t want to discuss.
“Did you ask her about… Maatua?”
She nods. “I did. She said she doesn’t know anything about it.”
I’m not surprised. If Isla and her family came from the same island that the cufflinks she bought me came from, neither of her parents would want to talk about it at all. “Maybe just give them some time?” I suggest. “They may need to get used to the idea of you living in the palace.”
She shrugs a little, and I wonder if there’s more she’s not saying. “Anyway… I was upset. You were upset.”
My hand lifts, and I smooth my palm over her cheek. Just touching her makes me stiffen a bit. I want more than just a sweet caress, but she’s not up to it, and I don’t want to push her, even when she leans into my hand and moans a little.
“Isla,” I say, scooting closer to her, “please don’t ever leave the castle without telling me you’re going again, okay? I have control over most of the wolves in this kingdom, but as you saw, there are packs of rogues, and they would like nothing better than to jump in and rip someone from the castle apart.” For years, my men have roamed those woods looking for those jackasses, but they are great at hiding, and it seems like when we get one, two more replace that asshole.
“Okay,” she says, but in her eyes, I see something else, like reservations about not wanting to promise me she won’t leave. It makes me nervous. I have a feeling that this isn’t the last time we are going to find ourselves in this situation unless I tether her to me.
“Did you say you have Alpha Jordan?”
Her words startle me from my thoughts. “Oh, uh… yeah,” I say. “He’s in the dungeon. Or, at least, he’d better be.” I know this isn’t the first time I’ve said those words recently, but since we have all of his remaining guards and servants locked up now, and his manipulative daughter is gone, I don’t think he can find his way out.
She nods. “Do you have work to do?”
I sigh. I always have work to do. I want to stay here with her, but she needs her rest, and if I keep touching her, keep looking at her breasts, I’m going to want to do things that probably aren’t so good for a woman with a head wound.
“Yeah, probably so,” I say on a sigh. “But I can come in later and hold you–if you want.”
She looks at me, those wide eyes sparkling slightly. I am not used to people having to think about whether or not they want my company. “That would be nice,” she says, and I start breathing again.
I lean forward, intending to kiss her forehead, but she tips her face up, and my lips meet hers. Soft, warm, inviting, I can’t help but press her to part those lips, and I slide my tongue between her teeth and tap it against hers, then I slide it even deeper, and pull her closer to me, reminding myself to be careful of her shoulder and her head.
The feel of her fingers grazing my cheek as she slides her hand up to feather through my hair. I moan into her mouth. I’m having a hard time controlling myself. Thoughts of taking her onto my lap, of working around whatever she might be wearing beneath this nightgown, if anything, fill my mind.
I pull back, and our lips make a smacking sound. She looks a bit dazed, and I want to apologize to her. I didn’t mean to remove myself so quickly, but I was on the cusp of going too far. “I should go,” I murmur.
Her bottom lip trembles slightly as she stares up at me and slowly nods. “Be careful,” she tells me.
I almost laugh. “I’m not even leaving the castle.” But I know that doesn’t mean that I couldn’t get hurt or killed. It’s not like no one has ever died here.
“I know,” she says. “But Alpha Jordan will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
I’m not sure how she knows that. She’s known a lot of things recently that she shouldn’t know.
I stand and touch her nose lightly with my first finger. “Get some sleep.” She kisses my finger as I pull it away, wanting to stay.
The urge to stay is overwhelming and uncomfortable as this woman has me completely stiff. With one more smile, I turn and go, hoping she’s no longer angry at me.
I’ll need to find a way to make this up to her.